Seabase I Case Study

Module N

On Nov. 17, JoAnn gets more information at the Team Leaders meeting, which she passes on to the team via email:

Subject: glad I go to meeting!

Dear Ken, Bob, and Dave and Arnie:
you'll love it. Today Hank said we don't really need PCS.c file to port to
simulink and that the Albuquerque crane had a store bought controller that all
this existing code had to work with because legally they had to control the crane
with the store bought controller (called CC2000). What we need to do is port the
control1.c code. 

Check out the minutes.

I'm so glad I go to leaders and get these nuggets of wisedom to help guide my path.
(ok, yeah I'm stressed about other stuff, so am crabby)

JoAnn

Minutes of Nov. 17 Team Leaders meeting

Present: JoAnn Durst, Matt, Jon, Hank Taylor, Nancy Smith

SUMMARY:

At the meeting, Hank explains more about the existing code and its connection to the current project. JoAnn reports that the CS team spent time dissecting existing code with Dave and realize now that they will not have completed code this term. The goal has shifted from delivering code to "report[ing] progress in separating existing code into possible parts for simulink". A teleconference with project sponsors is scheduled for Nov. 30, and a member of the CS team is expected to attend.

On 11-19-04, JoAnn sends this:

Dear Dave, Bob, Ken:

I'm interested in your thoughts about this meeting Hank's having with the sponsors
(see below) which got moved from this week to the tuesday after break in the
afternoon.

Hank said in leaders meeting this week that the CS team doesn't have to present
anything or stay the whole time, but he seemed keen to have us represented. 

QUESTION: Should we all go for the first hour? What do you think? Have something
planned to say?

--- important part of Hank's first notice of meeting ---

Howdy,

The preliminary design review with my sponsors (NSWC and Craft Engineering) will
be Thursday 11/18 from 1-3. We may not need the entire 2 hours, but we'll have the
room in case it's needed. The meeting will be in 208. From 1-2 all the students
can attend. Whoever needs to leave at 2:00 can do so, however, it is important
that at least 1 person from each of the two groups attend for the duration.

At a minimum, the crane and motion platform team leaders need to give a 4-5 slide
presentation that capture two primary things.
1. the requirements you are designing to
2. your preliminary design...

------- end of paste ----------------

JoAnn
  1. Search back in previous minutes for discussion of PCS.c.
    • Is JoAnn's message really "news", or did the team hear this earlier, and overlook it?
  2. What do you think of the preparations for conference? What are the team member's roles?

Only two interesting things happen:

Concerning the PCS.c file:

  • did Hank tell them before and they missed it? (look back in documentation)
  • Should they (would they) have discovered they did not need if they had been working more closely with the code earlier?
  • Is this another contribution to failure of project? (Changing the requirements mid-stream is common, but how to react to it?)

More good insight on preparations for meeting with sponsors